GST threshold for low value imports

Posted by Emily Dowswell16sc on June 15, 2017

Labor is committed to maintaining fairness and a level playing field in our taxation system.

This is because every dollar of tax we lose to avoidance must be made up elsewhere by increasing taxes on individuals, or by reducing services. This is why Labor has acted to crack down on multinational tax avoidance, and why we have repeated our calls for the government to close debt loopholes.

The Government has introduced legislation requiring all imports of low value goods to be subject to the GST. In principle, individually imported products should be covered by the GST, just as they would be if imported by a retailer and sold in a local store.

However, Labor believes any proposal for change in this area warrants scrutiny to ensure there are no unintended consequences for Australian businesses and consumers. To ensure the tax measure works as intended, the Senate’s Economics Committee will be scrutinising the legislation.

Labor has led the way on making sure Australian businesses operate on a level playing field. We’ve also shown how imbalances in many of our biggest marketplaces are disadvantaging consumers. We will continue to push the government towards better options on tax integrity issues, and we will continue working to deliver fairer markets for Australian consumers.